Delos Redfern
'Prince Delos Redfern '''is the deuteragonist of L.J. Smith's eighth Night World book, ''Black Dawn. He is the prince of the Night World's Dark Kingdom, the second Wild Power, and the soulmate of Maggie Neely. Appearance Delos is described as having dark, wavy hair and "brilliant" golden eyes, framed by black eyelashes. His features are described as "fair" and "elegant", as well as being depicted as "tall", with a body "lithe and nicely muscled". He is usually seen wearing medieval-style clothing, complete with cape, gloves and boots, in addition to an enchanted arm brace on his left arm. His fair skin can become notably paler when under duress. Like all vampires he is inhumanly beautiful and his canines can grow into translucent, long fangs which indent the lower lip. Personality In his initial appearance in Maggie's dream, Delos shows great care, vulnerability and concern, particularly towards Maggie, with "tender anxiety in his face". From his urgency in trying to help her escape the Dark Kingdom as well as his action of kissing her, it is very clear Delos loves Maggie deeply. Upon seeing him again later in the real world, Delos is shown to act very controlled, unsympathetic and cool, showing none of the outward concern or kindness he displayed in Maggie's reverie. He regards humans as little more than vermin and slaves, and claims to have no feelings, despite helping Maggie at least twice. However, upon contact with the teenage girl, the Soulmate Principle reveals that Delos's coldness is a mask and defense he has created to cope with his life and the abuse he has suffered over the years due to being a Wild Power. Since he was a child, he had been regarded as nothing but a weapon, to bring glory to his father and to help the Dark Kingdom survive the end times; no regard was given for Delos's own feelings, resulting in Delos's cool demeanor and detachment towards others. As such, he is truly surprised at the concept of people looking out for and caring about one another; the idea is utterly alien to him. He also appears to view himself as a danger to other people, and feels immense guilt for a time in his past when Delos was ordered by his father to kill his own teacher. Delos can be highly stubborn and, being raised a prince, is used to getting his way in most matters, as seen when he locks Maggie in the castle dungeon when she won't agree to become a vampire. History Delos is the only child and heir of Tormentil Redfern and Phaedra Oryx, the rulers of the Dark Kingdom. Delos was born seventeen years prior to the events of Black Dawn. ''He was born with the power to use blue fire and was identified as the subject of a prophecy, foretelling that those born with blue fire had the ability to either save the world or destroy it in the coming Apocalypse ('One from the land of kings long forgotten' being the line that refers to the prince). Delos never left the kingdom and lead a life of privilege; however, his upbringing was also cold and lonely. His mother appears to have died before he could even remember her properly (as she never appears in his memories) and he was dominated and abused by his cruel father and the nobles, who sought to use his abilities as a weapon. He bound Delos' powers with a magical arm brace and also forced Delos - as a child - to kill his own teacher. Shortly before the events of ''Black Dawn, Delos' father died, leaving him the leadership of the Dark Kingdom. Before he could assume the throne however, he was found by his long-lost great-grandfather, Hunter Redfern, who tried to persuade Delos to shut down the Kingdom and join him and the rest of the Night World to take over the world. ''Black Dawn'' Delos first appears in a dream; the unconscious Maggie sees him for the first time among mist, calling out for her, although she doesn't know him or his name. Seeing her, Delos embraces Maggie and tells her she must leave as soon as she awakens. Despite her confusion, Delos points out a secret mountain pass that leads out of the Dark Kingdom; he insists that she find it and leave, regardless of what happens, as he is only concerned with Maggie's safety. When questioned about Miles, Maggie's elder brother, Delos evades Maggie's query, insisting she "can't think about him now". He then kisses her cheek with emotion, telling Maggie he loves her before fading into the mist as the dream ends. When Maggie is caught escaping with the ill Cady, she is saved from being killed by a blast of blue fire; Delos unleashing it to kill the bear shapeshifter threatening the girls. Recognizing him, Maggie goes to thank him for saving their lives, although she notes that Delos acts differently than in her dream. Delos brushes off her thanks, insisting he only did it because the bear, Bern, had flung a stick at him (although Maggie knows this to be a lie). Thirsty, Maggie asks Delos for some water, but Delos initially will only give it to Maggie, impressed by her rock climbing skill. He insists that Maggie leave Cady alone, as he feels the other girl will only serve as a burden, especially being so sick. He also becomes visibly resentful that, upon showing her his fangs, Maggie is not afraid of him. However, Maggie is angered by Delos's assessment of Cady and insists on getting help for the sick girl. Possibly intrigued by Maggie's selflessness and courage, Delos brings her to a cave bearing a freshwater spring, where Maggie drinks, then fills Delos's waterskin for Cady. Delos questions her sanity regarding helping others and shows no qualms about kidnapping humans, viewing them as nothing but vermin, further infuriating Maggie, who insists that Delos at least cared about her in her dream. Reaching out, Maggie establish contact with Delos's bared wrist, triggering the soulmate connection; through this she finally learns his name and who he really is. The inside of his mind is described as being angular, like "the heart of a giant crystal", with much beauty and color flashes, but also sharp edges. Delos, reacting with fear, commands Maggie to leave before he harms her, but she is able to see his childhood: his harsh treatment at the hands of his father, the late king Tormentil, and the other nobles, who dispassionately viewed him as the ultimate weapon. Maggie, horrified, shows him her own memories, to which Delos appears to react curiously, having never known warmth before among others. He recognizes Miles, but will not tell Maggie what he knows. When Maggie shows him her dream, he violently reacts, throwing Maggie out of his mind. Their connection remains, causing Delos to nearly kiss her, but he draws back, rejecting Maggie. As they argue, they are interrupted by the arrival of Delos's hunting party. After telling Maggie he killed her brother (another lie), Delos departs and draws the party away so Maggie can escape back to Cady. Before leaving, Maggie is given a glimpse of how Delos really sees her. Maggie encounters Delos again when a party is sent to find the escaped slaves; hiding in a tree, Maggie, Cady and two others, P.J. and Jeanne, are concealed from detection by Cady, who secretly casts a spell on the tree. However, the spell is unable to stop Delos from sensing Maggie, and he telepathically warns her to leave and to stay away from the castle before departing with the rest of the party, among whom is Delos's great-grandfather, the newly arrived Hunter Redfern. Maggie manages to disguise herself as a slave and infiltrate the castle, hiding in Delos's wardrobe. Here she learns of Hunter's scheme to use his great-grandson as his new heir, as well as use his power for himself, having used the witch Sylvia Weald to help contain the blue fire so that Delos can't access it. Delos arrives and, after sending Hunter and Sylvia away, reveals that he knew Maggie was there. She comes out and Delos confronts her on her meddling, attempting to make her afraid of him. However, this fails, and Delos, finally acknowledging his feelings, kisses Maggie, reviving the soulmate bond. Maggie is able to persuade Delos that he is a person, not a weapon, and that he can decide his own fate. However, remembering the lamia patriarch's scheme, Maggie informs Delos of the plans as well as the fact that he can't use the blue fire due to the arm brace. Delos removes it and attempts to summon his power, but it results in failure. Realizing the odds are against them, Delos decides to join with Hunter upon realizing that Hunter is in control of the nobles and now Delos's power, intending to make Maggie a vampire to protect her. Maggie angrily resists, and Delos has her sent to the dungeon until she changes her mind. Delos comes to the cell to see if Maggie will go along with him, but Maggie instead reveals to him Jeanne's scars from slavers playing tic-tac-toe on her back. Horrified, Delos is finally convinced to stop his ancestor, but he himself is ambushed by Hunter and Sylvia, and placed into the cell as well. Here, Maggie realizes that, using their connection, Delos had sent her the dream from the future, trying to warn her to escape before it came to this moment. The next day, the two of them, along with Aradia, Jeanne, and P.J., are taken to the castle courtyard to be executed via a blood hunt. However, Aradia is able to appeal to Sylvia, as a daughter of Hellewise and, obeying, Sylvia undoes the spell on Delos, allowing him to activate the blue fire and obliterate Hunter and all of the nobility. Sylvia was mortally wounded by an iron lance on Hunter's orders, for her defiance. Delos, taking pity on her, offers to turn her into a vampire, but Sylvia declines, pointing out that as the wood of the lance (wood being toxic to vampires) had pierced her heart as well, she probably wouldn't survive the transformation process anyway. After Sylvia's death, Maggie deduces that Miles was changed into a falcon shapeshifter, and Delos points out the mews to her, where she is successfully reunited with her brother. In the end, Delos meets with Aradia, agreeing to join Circle Daybreak, and the sun shines over the Dark Kingdom for the first time while the liberated slaves celebrate. Other Novels Delos makes a brief appearance in Witchlight, shown demonstrating his powers by blowing up boulders on a video tape shown to Iliana Dominick-Harman. Trivia *Although his parents have traditional lamia names, Delos himself shares his name with a Greek island. Furthermore, ironic for a vampire, the isle of Delos was the birthplace of the god of light, Apollo, in Greek mythology (although there's a connection as Apollo is also the god of prophecy; Delos's birth as a Wild Power was part of a prophecy). *Sylvia's enchantment of Delos shows that the blue fire of Wild Powers can be suppressed, despite of its great strength and effects. *He is the first character shown to use the soulmate bond to project himself backwards in time. *Delos is the first (and so far the only) male Wild Power depicted in the series, the only Wild Power to have known about his abilities prior to the beginning of the series and the only Wild Power so far to not be part human (Jez Redfern is a vampire-human hybrid and Iliana Dominick, whilst a witch, has a human father). *Due to the patriarchal lineage of the Redferns, Delos could be regarded as the last 'true' Redfern. Appearances *''Black Dawn'' *''Witchlight'' *''Strange Fate'' References Navigation Category:Characters Category:Males Category:Deuteragonists Category:Vampires Category:Lamia Category:Redfern Family Category:The Wild Powers Category:Circle Daybreak